Page 17 of Dying Breath
A hand went up and Lucy looked over at the officer who had arrested the guy who’d trampled the crime scene and then tried to run from it.
‘That guy I booked at the scene is Lewis Waite. He kept saying he didn’t hurt her and never would, that it wasn’t him. So he obviously knows her.’
‘Excellent point – DS Jackson is going to interview him shortly. He is also our number-one suspect at the moment. I want to know everything about him and Stacey Green: What their relationship was. Where he was trying to escape from. When the last time he spoke to her was. I want all the shops and flats above the backstreet canvassed. Did anyone see or hear anything at all? If there is any CCTV footage I want it seized and brought back here. Browning, would you go to Aston’s nightclub and ask them if you can view their CCTV before seizing it?’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘Col, can you start all the intelligence checks on both Stacey Green and Lewis Waite? I want anything and everything.’
Col nodded, stood up and left the room: he had his tasks. Browning followed him.
‘Rachel, can you phone the council and make sure the bin collections have been suspended? There were a lot of bins out. Task force can have the pleasure of searching those, although I think that Dr Maxwell will confirm that the cause of death will be asphyxiation by ligature. We also need to locate the victim’s shoes, which are missing, as a priority. At this moment I don’t believe that we are searching for any other weapons. However, that assumption could change after the post-mortem so it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s it for now; the PM isn’t scheduled until the morning. Let’s see what we can do between now and then to make sure the suspect we currently have in the cells is the correct one. Thank you.’
Lucy looked at Tom. ‘Is that everything for now?’
He smiled. ‘Yes, I’d say that pretty much covers it.’
She walked out of the briefing room. The fact that Stacey Green’s shoes were missing was a huge concern for her. Lewis Waite might be good for the crime, but they couldn’t discount that there might also be a connection to Melanie Benson, and this possibility scared her – unless Lewis Waite had killed both women and had their shoes at his home address.
Chapter Fifteen
May 1991
The last two days had been so hot that he felt as if his skin were melting from his bones. All the girls were wearing shorts and bikini tops or swimming costumes. Jake’s little sister, who wasn’t so little any more, had been showing off in her yellow two-piece. They’d had water fights and splashed around for hours in the paddling pool that his mum had bought so that he’d stop pestering her to take him to the beach.
She was busy working on another book; this one was consuming her day in, day out. She hardly ever emerged from the stuffy little office and she didn’t have a clue where he was or what he was doing most days. He didn’t care because he liked the freedom it gave him. He was thirteen and could do whatever he pleased.
He couldn’t stop staring at Jenny in that almost see-through costume. She was twelve and the flat chest that he’d never taken much notice of had suddenly developed into two soft, fleshy mounds that he’d very much like to touch. Jenny followed him and Jake everywhere, which, until a couple of days ago, had driven them both mad. Now he couldn’t wait to see her – he wanted to lay his hands on her her in ways that wouldn’t be allowed. He wanted to kiss her inviting lips.
The only problem was, Jake would kill him if he touched her. Jake had spent the last week moaning about having to look after her – his dad had told him not to let any boys get too near to Jenny, and to make sure she was always okay. So how would he get her on her own long enough to kiss her? Maybe he could ask her over after tea when Jake had gone to football practice, or get her to go to the woods with him. He had done nothing the last two days but think about Carrie and what John must have felt about her. He knew that he had to spend some time with Jenny, the two of them alone together; he just didn’t know when or how not to get caught.
He was lying on his bed looking at the stack of Polaroid photos he’d taken of Jenny when she hadn’t been looking. She was beautiful. Her long, silky, golden hair and palest blue eyes mesmerised him. He had one photograph he’d taken as Jake had thrown a bucket of water over her, those small, pert breasts brushing against the fabric of the bikini top. He’d stared at it for hours. Suddenly he heard his mum shout for him, and he jumped off the bed, tucking the photos under his mattress in case she came in. He rushed outside to see what she wanted.
‘Be a love and go get me some milk and a bar of chocolate.’
She handed him a fiver; he slipped on his trainers and began to walk in the direction of the shop. As he rounded the corner, he saw a flash of golden hair through the window. Jenny was coming out of the shop just as he walked inside. She grinned at him and he felt his heart skip a beat.
‘What’re you doing?’ she asked.
‘Going to the shop.’
‘I know that, you dweeb. What’re you doing after? I’m bored – my mates have all gone home and Jake is grounded for fighting with Ben last night.’
Ben was the boy who lived next door, and both he and Jake hated him. He had an idea – if he took his mum’s chocolate back and then went into his room, she’d think he was home. Then he could sneak out and spend some time with Jenny. Just the two of them; no one would have a clue.
‘I’m taking this back for my mum and then I’m going to the woods to play.’
‘Can I come?’
He smiled at her. ‘Don’t tell anyone where we’re going though, it’s a secret.’
‘I love secrets.’
He laughed. ‘I know you do.’
She ran off. ‘I’ll wait for you by the cutting.’
He almost forgot the milk – he was so excited at the thought of being alone with Jenny. He hastily brought the stuff to the counter, paid his money and raced home. He made a racket going in through the front door so that his mum would clearly remember him coming back, put the milk in the fridge, then went upstairs and knocked on the office door. She opened it and he handed her the bar of chocolate.
